More of a couch potato than a gym fiend? Well, you can now feel vindicated over your decision to skip hitting the treadmill, because a new study has shown exercising can make your brain tired, altering your decision making.
The research studied a group of triathletes, after undergoing an "excessive" exercise session and they showed signs of mental fatigue.
The portion of the brain that is crucial to decision making, that also controls your impulsive side, showed reduced activity.
Advert
The study, published today in the journal Current Biology, highlights that both physical and mental effort requires an active, inquisite brain.
And while exercise has huge health benefits, if you need an excuse to tell your friends why you CBA to go to the gym, you can say you need your brain fully functioning that evening...to do really important things that need a focused mind (insert made up reason here).
Study author Dr Mathias Pessiglione, of Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris, said: "The lateral prefrontal region that was affected by sport-training overload was exactly the same that had been shown vulnerable to excessive cognitive work in our previous studies.
Advert
"This brain region therefore appeared as the weak spot of the brain network responsible for cognitive control."
On a serious note, this may be worth noting if you've got a tough day at work coming up, perhaps a big meeting at 9am that will need you to be decisive and not in an impulsive manner, it might be best to skip the gym pre-work.
Dr Pessiglione added: "Our findings draw attention to the fact that neural states matter: you don't make the same decisions when your brain is in a fatigue state."
Advert
The researchers argue that the finding could also be important in preventing bad political, economic or judicial decision.
They plan in future to explore ways of preventing brain fatigue and its consequences, but in the meantime, you can go back to Netflix and chilling and feel smug knowing you're making all the best decisions.
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: Life News, Real, Health